On China's deadliest day of the coronavirus so far, it was revealed there were now nine cases of the disease in the UK.
The ninth patient is said to be a woman who flew into London from China.
The news came after it was reported there had been 242 deaths in just one day in China, and 14,840 new patients.
The spike raised the death toll to 1,355 and total number of infections in the country to 60,000.
Authorities also noted there had been “a further fall” in new cases of the virus. But, the latest stats have fuelled speculation that Chinese authorities could be underreporting cases.
The UK and Covid-19
Wuhan, China: Coronavirus - In pictures
Wuhan, China: Coronavirus - In pictures
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Matt Raw, a British national who returned from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China, leaves quaratine at Arrowe Park Hospital on Merseyside
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A woman wearing a face mask on the London Underground
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Staff at St Thomas's Hospital
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A child waves as she sits in a vehicle carrying residents evacuated from a public housing building, following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, outside Hong Mei House, at Cheung Hong Estate in Hong Kong
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Passengers relax on board the Holland America-operated Westerdam cruise ship, which has been denied permission to dock in Thailand over coronavirus fears
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Passengers on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship are seen as the ship arrives at Daikoku Pier where it is being resupplied and newly diagnosed coronavirus cases taken for treatment as it remains in quarantine after a number of the 3,700 people on board were diagnosed with coronavirus
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Customers wearing face masks shop at the pork counter of a supermarket following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, Hubei province
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Chinese paramilitary police officers wearing protectieve gears transfer pails of disinfectant in Yunmeng county, outside Xiaogan City in China's central Hubei province
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A Meituan deliveryman waits to pick up food next to a propaganda banner near a residential area, following an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the country, in Beijing, China
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A taxi driver wearing a face mask pulls out of Worthing Hospital in West Sussex, where a healthcare worker is among cases of coronavirus that have been confirmed in the UK
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Doctor Paul McKay, who is working on an vaccine for the 2019-nCoV strain of the novel coronavirus, poses for a photograph with bacteria containing fragments of coronavirus DNA, at Imperial College School of Medicine (ICSM) in Londo
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A general view of Worthing Hospital in West Sussex
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A woman wearing a Minnie Mouse face mask looks at her mobile phone in Beijing on February 11, 2020
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People wearing protective suits walk from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, with around 3,600 people quarantined onboard due to fears of the new coronavirus, at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama port
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A man wearing a protective face mask commutes on a road as it rains in Shanghai o
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A patient covered with a bed sheet at an exhibition centre converted into a hospital as it starts to accept patients displaying mild symptoms of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan
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A woman wears a mask while crossing London Bridg
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The Costa Smeralda cruise ship of Costa Crociere, carrying around 6,000 passengers, is docked at the Italian port of Civitavecchia after a health alert due to a Chinese couple and a possible link to coronavirus on board, in Civitavecchia, Italy
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A medical official takes the body temperature of a man at the departure hall of the airport in Changsha, Hunan Province, as the country is hit by an outbreak of a new coronavirus, China
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Officers in protective gear escort a person who was on board cruise ship Diamond Princess and had tested positive for coronavirus
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Quarantine Officials on the Diamond Princess cruise ship
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A chartered passenger jet carrying evacuated citizens from China taxis on the runway after landing at the Royal Air Force station RAF Brize Norton in Carterton
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A police vehicle enters the gates of the Royal Air Force station RAF Brize Norton in Carterton
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A plane carrying British nationals from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China, arrives at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire
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Passengers wear face masks as the push their luggage after arriving from a flight at Terminal 5 of London Heathrow Airport
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French citizens arrive and settle aboard of an evacuation plane with destination southeastern France, before departure from Wuhan Airport (WUH), China
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Staff members of a funeral parlour wearing protective suits disinfecting a colleague after they transferred a body at a hospital in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province, during the virus outbreak in the city
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Base personnel patrol inside a gate at the Royal Air Force station RAF Brize Norton in Carterton
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A member of staff at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside prepares for a bus carrying British nationals from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China
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Police stand at a checkpoint at the Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge that crosses from Hubei province in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, China
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An ambulance carrying a South Korea citizen repatriated from Wuhan, China who has shown flu-like symptoms during in-flight screening for novel coronavirus leaves Gimpo airport
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Coaches enter RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where a plane carrying British nationals from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China
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Medical staff walk to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases building at Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore
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Passengers wearing face masks are seen on a bus after disembarking from the Costa Smeralda cruise ship, after tests on a woman from Macau with suspected coronavirus came back negative, in Civitavecchia, Italy
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Empty racks where face masks are usually sold at a DIY store in west London. Pharmacies are working to boost stocks as demand for face masks in the UK appears to be on the rise amid fears about the coronavirus
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Workers produce masks at the Thai Hospital Product Company Ltd. factory in Bangkok
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People hoard bottles of alcohol after the Philippine government confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus in the country, in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
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A man hoards the last few bottles of alcohol left in a pharmacy, after the Philippine government confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus in the country, in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
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Taking precautions: with fears growing that the coronavirus will spread from China, a health official checks a woman’s temperature on the underground in Beijing
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An empty road is seen in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on January 27, 2020, amid a deadly virus outbreak which began in the city
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Passengers in the arrivals concourse at Heathrow Terminal 4, London, as the Government's Cobra committee is meeting in Downing Street to discuss the threat to the UK from coronavirus
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Students wearing masks meditate prior to a lesson at a high school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
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An arrivals board showing a cancelled flight from Wuhan to Heathrow Terminal 4, London, as the Government's Cobra committee is meeting in Downing Street to discuss the threat to the UK from coronavirus
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Paramilitary police wear face masks as they stand guard at Tiananmen Gate adjacent to Tiananmen Square in Beijing
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Medical staff at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital wear protective clothing to help stop the spread of a deadly virus
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Staff move bio-waste containers past the entrance of the Wuhan Medical Treatment Center, where some infected with a new virus are being treated, in Wuhan, China
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Buddhist monks wear masks as they walk near Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodi
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Workers driving excavators at the construction site of a field hospital In Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The builders will complete the 1,000-bed hospital by February 3 to cope with the surge of 2019-nCoV patients in the city
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A woman and a child wearing protective masks walk toward check-in counters at Daxing international airport in Beijing
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Medical staff transfer a patient suspected of having the new coronavirus at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong
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Pedestrians wear face masks as they walk outside the New Orient Landmark hotel in Macau
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A Chinese passenger checked for a fever by a health worker at a Beijing railway station
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An employee works to prevent a new coronavirus at Suseo Station in Seoul, South Korea
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A policeman wearing a mask walks past a quarantine notice about the outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan, China at an arrival hall of Haneda airport in Tokyo, Japan
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Excavators at the construction site of a new hospital being built to treat patients from a deadly virus outbreak in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province. - China is rushing to build a new hospital in a staggering 10 days to treat patients at the epicentre of a deadly virus outbreak that has stricken hundreds of people, state media reported on January 24. (Photo b
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An employee sprays disinfectant on a train as a precaution against a new coronavirus at Suseo Station in Seoul, South Korea
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Medical staff carry a box as they walk at the Jinyintan hospital
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CDC/Dr Fred Murphy Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that have a halo, or crown-like (corona) appearance when viewed under an electron microscope
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The resident wear masks to buy vegetables in the market in Wuhan
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Staff sell masks at a Yifeng Pharmacy in Wuhan
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Masked workers disinfect a passenger throughfare at the Taoyuan International Airport
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A rescue worker walks past a notice about the virus that has broken out in China
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Britain's ninth confirmed case of the coronavirus strain Covid-19 was confirmed on Wednesday, February 12.
She is being treated in a specialist NHS centre at Guy's and St Thomas' hospital in central London.
Two staff members at a Lewisham hospital are in isolation after the woman arrived unannounced.
Meanwhile, UK doctors have warned the London Underground could be a hotbed for the spread of coronavirus.
There are concerns the city's status as an international transport hub could exacerbate the spread of the virus.
Although medical experts say the risk of infection for residents in the capital still remains low, Dr Michael Head said "the UK can expect to see more cases".
The senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton said: "It should also be noted that, of the 1,750 tests carried out so far in the UK, more than 99 per cent of those tested have been negative for the coronavirus."
The 83 people isolated in Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral have been let out and allowed to return home having tested negative for the Covid-19.
And an Islington GP surgery has closed due to coronavirus. The Ritchie Street Health Centre directed anyone with symptoms to call 111 and "not come into the practice".
China and Covid-19
The death toll in mainland China has increased by 97, increasing the total to 1,113 deaths.
Authorities also noted there had been “a further fall” in new cases of the virus.
Forty-four more people have tested positive for the coronavirus known as Covid-19 on board a quarantined cruise ship off Japan, authorities have said.
The country’s health ministry said 218 people of the 713 tested on board the Diamond Princess have been infected by the virus.
The ship, which is still carrying more than 3,500 passengers and crew members, returned to the Yokohama Port on February 3 and has been in quarantine since.
Japan has 247 confirmed cases of the new disease that apparently started in Wuhan, a city in central China, in December.
